Divorced Heiress
Chapter 28

SARAH

The headache made itself present as soon as I woke up, I didn't remember what a hangover felt like, and now Abby's words repeated in my mind a thousand times. "I won't take another drop of alcohol for the rest of my life!"

The alarm went off an hour before breakfast time, I didn't want to wake up after Tristan and have him see me in this sorry state, what kind of example would I be setting for him?

I took a painkiller before getting ready for the day, the afternoon activities weren't too formal, so I dressed in black jeans and a thin-strapped white blouse. My first task for the day was to be a responsible mother, so I wanted to be as comfortable as possible.

I went down to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for Tristan, my head still had a slight ache, but it wasn't as intense as when I woke up. I forgot about any discomfort as soon as I saw my son in the dining room, sitting in his special chair, and a playful Paul next to him, cleaning up the food Tristan had dropped from his plate.

"Am I hallucinating?"

I stood at the doorway, admiring the heartwarming scene.

It was no secret that Paul loves Tristan, and even though he'd been away for almost a year, Tristan remembered and adored him. However, I didn't expect to ever witness this scene in my life. The only man who had had this kind of relationship with my son had been my father.

"If you eat everything I've prepared for you, I'll take you to the amusement park." An excited Paul said as he sipped his steaming cup of coffee. Tristan continued eating with even more enthusiasm.

My eyebrows rose in surprise at his words.

Did Paul cook for Tristan?

That was unexpected. For a moment, I thought Maga had prepared breakfast, but now that I stopped to think, there were no traces of my Nana anywhere in the house. The only ones awake at this hour were them and me. My heart warmed at the tender sight, although I denied it outright, Paul was doing his best to play the role of a father, and I didn't know how to feel about that.

Tristan's hazel eyes landed on me as he noticed my presence, and he squirmed in his seat, very happy "Papau! Mom, mom!" He pointed at me with a smile, and Paul's surprised gaze traveled to me, realizing Since when did my son start calling Paul 'Papau'?

That's new.

was watching them. The corners of his lips curved into a genuine smile.

"Mom woke up early!" Paul said, getting up from his seat and approached Tristan to whisper something to him, but he wasn't low enough for me not to hear.

"I'll invite her to have breakfast with us. I made her a special breakfast, what do you say?"

Tristan's head moved up and down with a huge smile on his face, and I couldn't help but smile while still watching the sweet scene.

"Good morning, Ms. Doinel, I invite you to have breakfast with us. The menu is not as exquisite as you're used to, but it was made with love."

Paul walked calmly to me, after getting a positive response from Tristan, and greeted me with a kiss on the cheek before hooking his arm with mine to lead me to the table. He pulled out a chair for me to sit next to Tristan.

I felt strange with this kind of attention. First, because I wasn't used to a man who is pursuing me surprising me in this way, and second, because it wasn't his responsibility to take care of my son. But I wasn't going to make a scene, nor would I dampen his spirits for the gesture that meant a lot to me.

"Paul, you didn't have to go through all this trouble." I said, feeling embarrassed as I settled into my seat to kiss Tristan's forehead, who kept eating as if he hadn't eaten in days.

"Are you enjoying breakfast?" I asked, looking at his half-finished pancake and the small pieces of strawberries scattered on his plate. He nodded, moving his black hair up and down.

"I know I didn't have to, but I wanted to. It didn't cost me anything at all." Paul replied as he served a couple of pancakes with chopped strawberries on the side and a steaming cup of tea that smelled delicious.

"I admit I was undecided when it came to cooking, I hope you like it."

He left the plate in my place and I looked at him silently, thinking about how considerate he is. When did he learn to cook? Or did he already know how to cook and I never knew?

"Thank you, Paul, it looks very appetizing." I said, taking the cutlery to start eating breakfast. I looked at Paul again, who also served himself a couple of pancakes and left the honey jar in the middle.

"Just out of curiosity, how did you wake up so early with Tristan?" I asked curiously before tasting the first bite of the pancakes with honey. My palate felt satisfied with the sweet and exquisite taste, I had to close my eyes to hold back a sound from my throat. He really cook very well. This was more delicious than it looked.

"I'm not used to the time change, so I woke up very early and wanted to see Tristan after almost a year without seeing him. It's impressive how much he has grown. And well, I accidentally woke him up when I was leaving a gift in his room. I apologize, that wasn't my intention, anyway, I made it up to him with his breakfast and took the opportunity to prepare yours." He said, and the more he spoke, the more endearing his gesture seemed to me.

I looked at Tristan, he didn't seem in a bad mood for having woken up so early. On the contrary, it was as if Paul's company was the cure-all.

"Paul, it's fine, I have nothing to apologize for. Tristan seems happy with your presence, and he is happy, and so am I." I replied after taking a sip of my tea.

"Although you surprised me, I thought I would be the only one awake at this hour, I was mistaken."

Paul chuckled sheepishly and served yogurt for Tristan.

"Well, I have a mission this week, so you will most likely see me awake very early every day." He winked at me knowingly, and I immediately knew what he was referring to.

The week he asked for in order to get closer to me and accept all his invitations, to not reject him as I had done for over three years. I wasn't sure if this could change something in me or in my feelings. The last thing I want was for Paul to get hurt because of me, and even though I made it clear to him from the beginning, he didn't seem willing to give up.

"You're off to a good start." I said without looking at him and took another bite of the breakfast, savoring the flavor.

"I haven't started yet."

His calm response made me observe him, feeling my cheeks turn red, and I met his ear-to-ear smile. He seemed so self-assured that for a moment, I thought he would give in at any moment.

"Good morning, little Sarah and young Paul. Oh! Tristan awake so early, what a pity, little Sarah, have I woken up too late? I'm so sorry."

Maga arrived in the dining room, interrupting our conversation, and I redirected my gaze from Paul's face to my Nana, who looked anxious and embarrassed.

"Good morning, Nana. No, it's not late. It's just that we woke up earlier, you don't have to worry." I said, taking a sip of my tea, and Maga hurried to greet Tristan with a kiss.

"I thought I had overslept, what a scare, little Sarah. I'll prepare breakfast... Well, I see you have already eaten, so I'll cook for the others." Maga disappeared towards the kitchen, leaving us alone once again.

"After today's show, I want us to have our first date. I would invite you right now, but I have to finish some tasks for our presence at Fashion Week."

I tensed up just by hearing it, our first date. And I had to pretend and take a sip of tea.

By accepting, I was supposed to be accepting our first date. There was no time for regrets anymore, and I wasn't regretting it, but I was starting to feel scared.

"After the show, we have the welcome banquet. We can't miss it. I have to mingle with the top brands." I reminded him, as it was one of the main activities I had to do. Many good brands had projects that wanted to collaborate with Doinel, and I couldn't waste the opportunity to show my performance and how capable I was.

"After the banquet then."

Perhaps I would end up tired after the first day of the long-awaited event, but I could make time for Paul. After all, he was making an effort to make the most of the week he asked for.

"Perfect!" I said without dampening her spirits and her smile widened. Before she could say another word, my phone rang on the table, an unknown number appeared on the screen and after debating whether I should answer or not, I ended up answering. "Hello?"

"Good morning, am I speaking with Ms. Sarah Petit?"

The feminine voice on the other end sounded familiar, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't remember where I had heard it before.

"Yes, this is her, who am I speaking to?" I asked with a serious voice and looked at Tristan who pointed to his empty plate, letting me know that he had eaten everything without leaving a crumb, I smiled at him while lightly pinching his round and rosy cheek. "I am the assistant to the president of Lancaster Collection. The reason for my call is in regards to last night's inconvenience, the Lancaster family offers their sincerest apologies for the misunderstanding and Ms. Gina's behavior. The company is at your disposal for anything you may need during your stay in New York."

I remained motionless and furrowed my brow trying to process the words of the woman on the other end of the line, now I remembered where I knew that voice from, it's Cristina, Alexander's assistant.

How pathetic, they couldn't even face me and offer a simple apology. But of course Gina wouldn't stoop down to apologize to me or anyone, she was a spoiled child, and to avoid feeling more humiliated, she sent the poor secretary who had nothing to do with the matter to apologize for her, and now they had the audacity to offer to help me with anything I might need?

I couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter that caught the attention of Paul and Tristan, the latter ended up joining in my laughter without knowing the reason.

Oh, my baby.

"Excuse me, but do you think it's right what you're doing? Is it okay to apologize on behalf of others? The one who should call to apologize is Ms. Lancaster, since she's the one who started it all. Please, do not call me again unless it's on behalf of Ms. Gina. I do not accept your 'sincere apologies"." I responded calmly, while still looking at Tristan laughing out loud and I almost got infected with his laughter.

"Ms. Sarah, please wait a moment." She hurriedly said upon realizing my intention to hang up the call and I was about to tell her that I was not interested in anything other than Gina personally apologizing to me, but a voice interrupted me.

"Ms. Petit, I offer you an apology on behalf of my sister and the Lancaster family."

I felt the raging anger in my chest upon hearing that voice that made me nauseous, I automatically stiffened in my seat, feeling uncomfortable.

"I have heard about what happened at Eclipse bar and I want you to know that I will take strict measures with Gina..."

"Mr. Lancaster, I don't care what you do or don't do with your sister. If you offer me a supposed sincere apology, I hope it's from Ms. Gina herself. If it's not from her personally, I don't accept apologies, not even from the president of the country. Have a good day." I said with a cold and indifferent voice, feeling my blood boiling, and ended the call without waiting for any response, I didn't want to keep listening to him.

Who did they think they were?

They thought she could insult me as much as she wanted and that others could apologize for her. What kind of education did that girl receive? Someone needed to put her in her place and I would be more than happy to do it.

"Is everything alright? Is that family bothering you again? Just let me know and I'll make sure that girl comes to apologize on her knees." Paul said after I placed the phone on the table and I looked at him amused, dissipating the annoyance that hearing that voice now disgusted me and focusing on what brings a smile to my face, Tristan and Paul.

His brown eyes looked at me with concern and curiosity, I gave him a carefree smile, before picking Tristan up in my arms.

So much like his father, and yet so different he would be from him.

Now more than ever, I had to keep him away from the Lancasters, my son would not be one of them, they would have to go through me and I wanted to see if they dared to.

"It's not necessary, Paul. The same as always, a shameless family."